Rogue Fox Dark Dreams
Chapter IV
Monsters and Metal
~SyxxFox

"The power isn't supposed to go that high."

"Just do it."

"We can overclock the FF core to twenty-over. The cooling system can't handle any more than that. If I turn it up past one-hundred and twenty percent, the system could quite literally have a meltdown. And you don't want to be around when that happens."

"Yeah, your concerns are noted. Overclock it. Set it as high as it can go."

"Yes Sir. Booting now. We'll have to recalibrate the entire system. Standby for re-cal."

Words scrolled into the blackness:

TEC-II SFX Advanced Armouring
V2.2.01F VORTEC MII

METAL-01
"APEX"

Syxx took a deep breath as the heads-up display lit, allowing his optics to fade in. He could feel the suit slowly starting to take its own shape around him, making him feel like the armour was holding him upright more than the structure of his own body. All of the tools and diagrams lit up in front of his eyes, including the state of his armour, life support, weapons systems and cloaking devices. It was all laid out in front of his eyes, so he could monitor each individual system.

"Alright." The black fox could hear a voice from the speakers inside of his helmet. "You're running at an enhanced rate, even for this suit. Take it slow, and get used to the power multiplier. Even with your bio-enhancements you can seriously injure yourself. And even running the Tec-two at half power has the potential to kill any other Lylatian. So just be careful." A red fox with short brown hair, in a white lab coat stood before him. He lifted his arm over his head, holding a small red light, and pointed it toward Syxx's eyes through the glossy-black visor. "Follow the light with your head please. Take it slow. Let the armour do the work."

Syxx did as instructed, following the light as the vulpine moved it around in front of him. He knew he had to be careful, and at this point, it almost felt to him like he was resisting the power of the suit, as he made his movements. His motion tests went on for another five minutes or so, using every ligament, and flexing his every muscle. After each of his motions, the lab-tech would make a few adjustments on the hollow-pad that he had in his other paw. And soon enough he was finished.

"You're all done Sir. Please pick the rifle up from the counter."

Syxx started slow. He examined the room, taking a glance around the armoury and the makeshift station that the techs had setup to tune in his armouring. He made his way to the table, near all the electronics that were setup to monitor the Vortec system. He stood before the table, reaching both of his paws downward. One of the strong metal gloves wrapped around the pistol-grip of the thick battle rifle. He unplugged the wires that were hooked up to the weapon, yanking them from their sockets, roughly. The black fox inspected the weapon. Each sharp edge of the design looked rugged, from the square barrel, square stock and even the square mid-range scope placed on the mounting rails. He yanked the folding stock of the rifle outward, making it crack loudly as it locked into place. He slowly brought the heavy rifle upward to hold the stock with the other paw. In the top corner of the heads-up display that was built into the glass of the helmet, he could see a new reading and a small screen appear under it. The small screen shifted and appeared in the bottom right corner of the visor, and as he moved the weapon around he quickly realized it was the preview of the scope's sight on his rifle.

ACX SPECIAL
METAL ASSET EHBR

"I've also updated your armour. It should sync with most weapons in the field automatically, giving your battery power, ammo count, or core temperature. When you sync the ACX, you'll even get a preview of the optics. Since you're running your armour at a'hundred-twenty percent, I've also included an overheat alert. If you're overworking the suite, you'll get that alert. So find cover and wait for the core to cool down. Same story as the old Vortec, if you shoot while your thermo-optic camo is enabled, it'll short it out. Same if you take a shot or heavy impact. If that happens, find cover. The nanobots will make the repair automatically."

Syxx scoffed. "Sounds a lot more problematic than the old Vortec." He lowered his arm, picking up a black knife with an aggressively serrated edge. He balanced the blade between his fingers as he picked it up. The armoured gloves clicked as Syxx rolled the knife between and over his fingers skillfully, until the handle fell square into the paw-pad of the glove. He lifted his arm and placed the knife into the sheath that was attached to the left side of his chest armour. The black knife slid into the holder, with the clean sound of metal on metal as it was placed into its carrier.

"It wouldn't be, if you were running within its designed specifications. You wouldn't have to worry about an overheat. But, that's what happens when you overclock the FF core that way. Now, we've also replaced the glass on your helmet. Try not to smash this one up so fast, eh? The bots that power the armour can repair the plating and operating systems, but not the glass and hydraulics."

Syxx did nothing but dip his head slightly in response.

"Now, head over to the simulator sever. The general is expecting you."

"Great."

Syxx held the heavy battle rifle as if it were no lighter than a handgun. He swung it casually, holding the pistol grip with one paw, and resting the large rifle over his shoulder and half behind his neck. He marched off to the next room, the automatic door opening the moment he neared it. He couldn't say he was exactly happy with what he was welcomed with in the next room. The first he saw was Falco, standing at the back corner, clad in the leather jacket he often wore. The blue falcon stepped forward and joined the rest of the members standing in wait for the Slayer. General Peppy Hare stood at attention in his grey uniform, with two guards at his backside while Falco joined Katt, the pink feline. Slippy Toad was there too, standing across from General Hare.

Syxx stood at the edge of the group. He flexed his arm, and lowered the rifle from over his shoulder, dropping it into his other glove with a heavy metallic clunk. Before he could speak, another door opened, and two more figures entered the room. "Let the party begin…" his voice trailed off as he spoke to himself.

Peppy almost cut him off. "We'll be observing your simulator runs. It's good for Falco's team to get comfortable with Metal Assets, since you'll be working so closely together. I know you've spent some time in the field together now, but StarFalco needs more time to get comfortable with how you two operate."

Syxx watched both Krystal and Pyro enter the room, the other Slayer taking a stand closely to the next. The black fox looked over Falco. "Falco's team is the best you have?"

The avian didn't take the insult quietly. "Hey! Listen here, you…" He took a step forward.

Falco's step forward was only to be stopped by the old hare putting an arm up to block the bird. "Falco and his team are the only pilots that I trust to work with you two."

"Falco and his team are mercenaries, not military." Pyro chimed in.

Krystal was next to pipe up. "And here I thought no one could be more hard headed than you, Falco."

Syxx answered back, speaking a perfect Saurian tongue, knowing that both he and Krystal would be the only ones to understand. "If he ran a fighter as well as he ran his mouth, I wouldn't be so worried."

Krystal snapped back, speaking the same foreign language. "You're one to talk."

Falco took a sharp step forward toward the Slayer, but looked toward Krystal, as if expecting an answer to a question that he hadn't even asked yet. "What?! What did he say about me?!"

Krystal just closed her eyes, and shook her head simply.

Peppy cleared his throat. "In a language we can all understand, please." He paused briefly. "Apex, surrender your weapon, and enter the hollow-chamber."

Syxx didn't reply. He just started marching forward, handing off the heavy rifle to Pyro on the way by. The raccoon caught the weapon, casually slinging it into his arms as if he knew what the fox was going to do. The heavily armoured soldier walked out of the room, entering a doorway that led way to a blindingly-bright light, before the heavy door slid shut automatically behind him. Slippy stayed with the techs, to work with them in tuning in the suit as the Slayer went off to do what he did best. Peppy went up the short stairway to the observation deck.

Pyro and Krystal both watched as the techs setup. Computer screens in the small room lit up with monitoring equipment as SFX techs went to work. A hologram of the armour spun in the air in front of them, noting and checking things and giving the techs a visual aide. Pyro took a back seat, making his way to the back of the room, jumping up on the table to take a seat on it, with the rifle over his lap. He reached into the pocket of the green army pants that he wore, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter both with the same grip. He tilted the lighter, giving it a few smacks with his loose paw before putting the smoke in his mouth, and taking a long drag to light it. The end of the smoke glowed a bright yellow as the raccoon inhaled deeply, holding the breath of air in his lungs, only letting small blue smoke trails escape through his nose. He closed his eyes. He sucked the smoke down into his lungs, leaning back on the table, before he heard a familiar voice:

"Hey rodent. Can't smoke indoors, here."

Pyro tilted his head back, holding the smoke in his lungs for a long while. He let out a thick trail of musky blue smoke into the air, forming a cloud above his head. The thick smell of tobacco filled the air around them quickly. He then let the cig rest in his mouth, as he slowly turned his gaze back down, leering at the avian as his ringed tail flicked behind him. He lifted the rifle, slinging the heavy BR up into his grasp. His paw on the pistol grip and the stock, he stepped toward the blue bird, watching as Falco crossed his wings over his chest. The Slayer could tell right away that the falcon was trying to make himself look broad, and intimidating. Though, such a threatening action would be completely lost in translation when approaching a Slayer. Falco's acts of intimidation carried no gravity to Pyro.

They stood nearly eye to eye, but the raccoon was a little bit shorter. The tension in the air between them could be cut by a blade. The avian worried at first that the Slayer was going to take a swing at him, but the action was different. With a fast motion forward with both paws, Pyro pushed the rifle against Falco's chest, and as the wings of the bird, instinctively closed around the weapon to hold it, the Slayer let it go. And as Pyro's paws left the rifle, the weight of it was left entirely to the blue avian. Falco struggled with the weapon right away, feeling it's immense weight in his arms, making them both drop as he held the gun. Pyro simply walked away from the bird, leaving the room as the door automatically slid shut behind him, sealing Falco and his team in the small control room, filled with the thick stench of his cigarette.

Falco still struggled with the weapon. "This thing is a beast!" He lifted it upwards, throwing it back into his grip a little bit better where he could actually carry the rifle.

Katt snickered a little bit. "Well you remember what Slippy told us about that gun, so unless you really mean business, keep your finger off the trigger, okay hun?"

"Feel this thing!" Falco chirped out. He offered the rifle to Katt, letting the little pink feline take it from his grip.

Katt caught the weapon with both paws, with a little, "Umff," escaping her lips before she lifted it up against her chest. She toyed with the gun a little bit, putting the butt into her shoulder, and lifting the gun, to try to take a peek down the scope. Her aim was unsteady and her arm shook a little even as she tried to hold it up for just a few seconds before she dropped it again. "I don't get how they can use these things."

Krystal was next to hold the weapon, taking it into her paws from Katt. She did a little better supporting the weapon, but for her, it was still excessively heavy. "Well if we're going to be working with them, we should probably at least know how to use one of these, right?"

Katt smiled and shrugged. "So to the range then?"

Krystal smiled in return. "Why not?"

Falco scoffed. "Fine."

Katt teased the bird. "What's wrong? I thought guys liked guns?!"

"Well we'll see how much you girls like it when it knocks you on your tails."

They made their way to the range, down the long halls. Krystal took the lead, and though she always got looks, especially from guys and mostly due to her coloured fur, or so she assumed; she was getting a lot more than usual. The rifle was big, bulky and heavy. Most of the marines around the base had never seen a weapon like that before, and each had their own little interest in it.

Making their way to the range, they stepped in. The range was usually pretty quiet in these times. Most the troops were able to get live target practice in the field, and there was really no use for the range besides sighting in sniper rifles. In fact, there was only one other person there now, and the ringed tail gave Pyro away instantly.

For a weapons range it was very clean. Silvery white floors, white walls, just like everything else in the base. This range wasn't setup with booths, rather just one long bench-table that spanned the length of the range. Easily there was enough room for a dozen or so to have enough space to fire at the range. And for an indoor range, it was long. It seemed excessively long for an indoor gallery, spanning the length of what seemed liked the entire base underground. There was even a sign on the wall:

MAX RANGE 800 METRES

Pyro was sitting on one of the stools in front of the bench; the heavy ACX rifle in his shoulder, setup with a bipod, resting on the bench as he stared down the scope and down the range. The three members of the crew, all watched, focusing on the trigger finger of the Slayer as he squeezed it. The rifle went off with a mighty and thunderous bang with a metallic slice sound following behind the report. It jumped on the table a little bit as it went off. Krystal watched down range just in time to catch the silhouette of a target fall, close to the end of the range. The heavy rifle was enough to even punch Pyro in the shoulder as it went off.

The three members of StarFalco approached a seat near the edge of the range, leaving the weapon down on the bench in front of them.

Krystal sighed in a little bit of relief, as she was able to put the weapon down, finally. "Alright, who's up?" The other two were quiet, and Krystal sighed yet again. "Alright, fine. I guess I'll go first then."

Krystal sat down in front of the bench. She inspected the rifle before lifting it to her shoulder. It was a very simple design with minimal moving parts. There wasn't even a safety mechanism on the gun. The only thing on the rifle was the trigger and the bolt. Every other piece of the black and squared off weapon was solid and robust. Even the scope was made solid. If anything the weapon was made durable. And it had to be. The exercises of a Slayer were much more rough and abusive to the equipment than any other soldier could put them through.

She supported the weapon in one of her arms, leaving her elbow to rest on the counter, while her other arm wrapped around the stock, and finger rested on the trigger, paw holding the grip. She looked down the square scope of the rifle, staring down range. She picked one of the targets that wasn't too far away, and that filled most of the scope.

The vixen placed the targets over the head of the silhouette, tightening her grip around the trigger and beginning to pull it in.

"Stop…"

Krystal kept her cheek pressed to the stock of the rifle, turning her head just enough to see Pyro standing beside her, making her look upward a bit. He simply plucked the rifle from her grip, holding it with one arm, and taking it away from her. He carried it with him to his bench, taking something from a drawer next to him. He wrapped the stock in a dark green strap with a pad that sat around the butt of the rifle. He slid a bipod on the bottom mounting rail. With that, he walked the weapon back to her and set it down on the bench where it had been.

Pyro adjusted the weapon back onto the bipod. "I was hoping the bird was going to be the one to take the first shot. And if he were, I wasn't gonna say sh-t." He started to walk back over to the place where he had been shooting, talking with his back to them. "If you're gonna be shooting that thing without an absorber, you're gonna be one hurtin' unit."

Pyro stepped back over to his bench, taking the rifle back into his grip, and looking down the sight. His left paw reached forward and pulled back the metal receiver, letting it knock forward with a heavy metallic clunk. The air around them rumbed as he pulled the trigger. His fur, including the fur on his tail stood on end a little bit each time he fired the weapon. Krystal watched, as the rifle rumbled. The muzzle of the gun flashed each time the raccoon pulled the trigger, emitting a white burst and small halo that back-drafted and wrapped back around the barrel each time the trigger was pulled. The plasma projectile flashed a brilliant white-green each time it shot.

Krystal could feel Falco looming over her as he spoke. "I just wanna' go over to that guy," he took a pause and curled his hand into a knuckle, "and just let 'em have it."

Krystal settled with her cheek back onto the stock of gun. "You do that." She didn't much care to get in the middle of the two of them at this point.

"If you have a death wish." Katt chimed in.

Krystal placed her finger back on the trigger, finding a target down the range. She mimicked the actions of the Slayer and placed her paw on the small toggle of the receiver and pulled all the way back just to let it slash forward again, shaking the weapon against her cheek. She started to squeeze the trigger in. She heard Pyro's shots come to a stop, and even though he wasn't looking directly at her, she could feel his and everyone else's eyes burning at her. She set the crosshair over the silhouette. She didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, squeezing it all the way in. The rifle flashed bright white, and thundered. She could feel every piece of fur she had, stand on end as the air around her electrified. It was like getting bucked by a bull. If she didn't know better she could swear her shoulder had been dislocated. As her arm left from being wrapped around the weapon, it became numb. She didn't even bother to see if she had hit anything. "Ouch…"

Falco laughed. "Well that looked like it hurt."

Krystal stood up and held her arm with the opposite paw. "Yeah, I'm not sure we should be using these things."

"Well we may not have a choice. But until then, I'll stick to my Blaster! Or one better, my Arwing!"

Katt smiled. "You remember what Slippy said. They are specifically designed for those two guys. Not us."

"Alright." Falco stepped up. "Let me give this thing a shot."

Falco picked up the weapon, struggling to hold it up against his shoulder. His left arm shook a little bit as he held the weapon up. He could barely keep the rifle steady enough to shoot it. "Is this thing solid metal or what?!" Just as he was getting ready to shoot, he felt the rifle lift from his hands. "Hey!"

Pyro plucked the gun away from him, with one ACX heavy rifle in each arm, he made his way to the door with his back to them.

"Hey! You!" the falcon barked out.

Pyro stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned, just far enough so that he could look over his shoulder at the rest of the team who stood behind him. He didn't say anything, just looked back at Falco with a raised eyebrow as his tail slowly swung left and right behind him.

Falco walked toward him, confronting the raccoon. "As much as I don't like it, we're a team now. And as a team, we all need to act like team players here!"

Pyro turned the rest of the way around, still holding a rifle in each paw. "Alright look. Here's the deal, Feathers. You don't like me, and turns out, I'm not a big fan of you either."

"Even if you two don't like each other, we still have to work together." Krystal said.

"I agree. And I've got your back, each and every single one of you. But I've seen what you guys can do in the field, and trust me, I want you in your ship. Cause on ground you're more like a liability to me. But your ships do offer a fast option of transport for me and the black-fox." He smiled to the falcon. "So ya' do make a good taxi service if anything."

Falco leered at him. And even Krystal could feel it. She could sense it. There was nothing she could do about it. Before she could stop it, Falco curled his knuckle tightly, swinging low, and contacting the raccoon right in the stomach with the full force of his punch.

"Falco!" Krystal yipped out in concern. Not for Pyro, but for the falcon himself.

Pyro didn't even flinch. It was more like punching a brick wall. The falcon's punch hit the Slayer's stomach with a heavy thud, filling the air. The soldier just stood there, like nothing had happened at all. He wasn't even short of breath. Falco had used nearly all his might to deliver a blow to the gut of the Slayer, and it wasn't enough to even wind him.

Katt smiled, holding back a laugh. "That, didn't look like it hurt at all!"

As if on cue, the door behind Pyro slid open, and out stepped a dark figure, with a glossy-black visor, and a dark furred tail with a white tip. The armoured figure marched forward, with heavy steps from his boots, before coming to a stop beside Pyro and taking one of the rifles from him. The fox observed them all, analyzing the situation and the tension in the room. Krystal found it quite suspicious that he looked at her for the longest moment. The vixen found it quite uncomfortable, like he was reading her mind. With the power of the Krazoa infecting the black vulpine's body and soul, she questioned a lot of Syxx's abilities, even to the point of being supernatural. It wasn't just that, but Syxx was infected with a benign strain of the Aparoid virus as well, like he could still control part of it. She just couldn't put a finger on it. She couldn't read his mind. There was something off about his thought patterns. She was baffled by it. She wasn't sure if it was the Slayer's adapt ability to read and analyze a situation, or was it that he was able to see what she was thinking? Carrying a Krazoa Spirit in his soul, artificial enhancements in his body, and a strain of the Aparoid virus in his blood, Syxx truly was a monster of sorts.

"Done already?" Pyro asked.

Syxx didn't answer, but the answer came from over his shoulder from another figure in the shadows. "Metal Zero-One completed all of our training pits in record time." It was Peppy. Krystal picked up on him not even using the fox's name before he went on to speak. "The suit is operating normally. Krystal? A word please?"

The blue vixen continued staring at the black fox. She knew that he was staring back at her from behind the tinted glass, but she couldn't see it. She leered into the visor of the Slayer for a long while. All she could see was a reflection of herself. Her eyes burning back only to her own soul as they both stood their ground. "Krystal." She could hear Katt's voice echo through her head, as if she was miles away. The vixen raised her lip a little bit to growl softly at the Slayer before walking past the armoured man as Katt pulled her along. Syxx's eyes followed her and he turned his head only slightly, but just enough to track her with his gaze before she disappeared behind him, leaving the room. Katt and Falco left shortly behind, the falcon giving a scoff as they left the range.

Pyro circled around, sitting himself on the bench for the range, which was now completely empty except for the two of them. "Ya' alright?"

Syxx reached up to his neck, and taped at the control on his forearm at the same time, releasing the latch to his helmet. It let out a soft hiss as the suit decompressed. Syxx swung the helmet off of his head with one paw, gripping the helmet around the chin guard. He tucked it up under his arm and against his body. His eyes glowed electric blue from the power of the Krazoa. "She's not telling us something." His silver fang shimmering as he spoke.

Pyro tilted his head to one side. "Ya' think that the military tells us everything? You think Peppy tells us everything?"

"Slayers have been a secret since the beginning."

"And we're a secret now."

Syxx put his helmet and rifle down on the firing bench. "So what other secrets do they have?"

Pyro reached into his pocket, pulling out a small and square piece of glass. It lit up as he touched it with his paw. "You've seen this then?" Pyro tossed the glowing piece of glass.

Syxx caught it with one paw, casually. The piece of glass lit up with text. With his gloved finger on the edge, he started scrolling through literature that was illuminated on the screen. He read aloud what he saw on the screen. "Cornerian Army's new weapon against the Aparoids. Cornerian's Military has implemented the use of advanced AI's in the form of super-soldiers to fight Aparoid forces. The robots have been dubbed the code name: 'Metal Assets' among soldiers and pilots." He scrolled down farther, and was able to find a picture of the Vortec armour, holding a plasma-rifle.

Pyro nodded. "Easier to dub us as robots."

"I guess our tails don't give us away."

Pyro shifted in his place on the table. He lifted his tail into his paw. "I guess they don't count on many soldiers ever seeing us. Or the public for that matter. Well they're not wrong."

Syxx examined the article. "What do you mean?" He tried to piece together what Pyro was talking about.

"I think it's a controlled leak."

"A controlled leak?"

"Easy. Military starts the rumor, and anyone else can take it from there. Everyone on this base can be a source. Look what happened with the Slayer Project. It's a pretty easy way for them to wash their hands of any moral responsibility. Just calling us robots takes away our mortality."

Syxx unstrapped the shock absorber from the weapon, and tossed it across the bench. He unhooked the bipod from the rifle, sliding it down the mounting rails, and tossed it down next to the shock pad. "Do you feel mortal?"

They both shared a moment of silence together, even if it was just brief. Syxx slid the piece of glass back to Pyro, who took it and placed it back in his pocket. "You should go see her." The raccoon said.

There was another moment of silence between them. Syxx didn't say anything, just stared off in thought. He started to shift a little bit in place, showcasing his discomfort.

"You can pretend to not care all you want, Syxxy. I know you do though. I do too." Pyro took a long pause, waiting for Syxx to speak, but it never came. He continued. "She's gonna come through you know."

Syxx lifted his chin, looking Pyro back eye to eye. The raccoon already knew that Syxx wasn't going to speak, so he continued:

"She's gonna wake up. And considering she is just as hard headed as you are, she's gonna get right back behind the scope in no time."

"How do you know?" He said simply.

Pyro was quick to answer. "'Cause she's a Slayer."

Syxx picked the rifle up from the table again, hooking it to the rifle-hanger on his hip. "Peppy wants to send us on a milk run." He changed the subject.

"How's that?"

"We're gonna' re-establish a defense line around the base. A few of the Western and Northern settlements became overrun during the Aparoid's last rush. Peppy doesn't want to send in an entire force to get ambushed. There's also a chance there might still be survivors in the area, and an even higher chance of running into infected. We'll secure the area and hold it long enough for forces to roll in and finally get that train from here to Wesetna up and running again. Either way, we'll be first contact. Sweep and clear. Check for survivors. Day-one stuff."

"Hah! Pretty ballsy move to send us for petty work when next week we have to deliver a bomb to the heart of the Aparoids."

Syxx smiled from the corner of his mouth. "Save your criticism for the General."

"Well who's leading the mission?"

"We are. Peppy wants us to learn to work as a team with Falco a little more. And he wouldn't let Falco lead a military operation." Syxx took a pause as he gathered his gear. "Oh, and by the way, good job at not returning his throw."

Pyro hopped off of the bench. "How do you know I didn't hit him back!?"

"Cause if you had, he'd be on the floor, with a leg twitching." Syxx started heading for the door. "I know I've wanted to strike him out before."

"Hah! You've wanted to strike me out before!"

Syxx looked over his shoulder, with a subtle smile across his muzzle. "I have struck you out before."

"So let me get this straight. You really care if we operate well as a team with them?"

"No."